NEW YORK — In the face of escalating attacks, over 250 North American rabbis and cantors called on the Israeli government to stop settler violence against Palestinians by arresting and charging perpetrators and by dismantling illegal outposts. A letter detailing their concerns was organized by T’ruah, a rabbinic human rights organization that represents over 2,300 rabbis and cantors and their communities in North America, and was delivered to the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. today.
The letter addressed to Israel’s Ambassador in the U.S. Michael Herzog cites numerous recent incidents of violence and says, “It is only a matter of time before this wave of violence leads to loss of life. We cannot let that happen.” The writers “call on the Israeli government to follow its obligations to uphold international human rights law by dismantling illegal outposts and bringing perpetrators to justice.”
Just this week Israeli news source Haaretz reported that charges are pressed in only 4% of settler violence cases.
The full letter is below and online:
Dear Ambassador Herzog,
In recent months, we have seen an alarming increase in frequent and violent attacks on Palestinians by settlers. A recent study shows that the majority of incidents take place in areas near outposts that are considered illegal even by Israeli law.
As Jewish clergy and members of T’ruah, a rabbinic human rights organization, we are committed to a just and secure future for both Israelis and Palestinians. We are heartbroken and enraged by the violence, which has included inflicting serious injuries on children and adults, damaging homes, and uprooting trees. It is only a matter of time before this wave of violence leads to loss of life. We cannot let that happen.
We call on the Israeli government to take immediate action to stop the violence by:
1) swiftly arresting and charging the perpetrators of these attacks
2) dismantling outposts that are illegal even according to Israeli law
Thus far, almost none of those who have carried out these attacks have been arrested, and even fewer have been indicted and brought to justice. Videos and eyewitness reports show soldiers standing by, failing to intervene, and even protecting the settlers carrying out the attacks.
Reports indicate that violent incidents perpetrated by Jews against Palestinians in the West Bank have risen more than 150% since 2019. This Simchat Torah, dozens of masked settlers set out from the illegal outposts of Havat Ma’on and Avigail escorted by Israeli security forces and attacked the Palestinian residents of nearby Khirbet al-Mufaqarah in what can only be described as a pogrom. The attackers injured twelve people, including a toddler who was hospitalized with a head injury. In November, settlers attacked three Israeli activists who were helping Palestinians harvest olives. The attack came after Israeli soldiers, who had been guarding the farmers, left the area. In December, settlers in Hebron attacked a 7-year old girl on her way home from school. The almost daily attacks have also included Molotov cocktails thrown through windows, and stones thrown at cars, and at Palestinian farmers as well as the Israeli activists accompanying them. These acts of violence have the larger goal of chasing Palestinians off of their lands, and appropriating this land for settlers, contrary to international law.
While the settlers attacking Palestinians claim to be defending the land of Israel, they are actually polluting it, per warnings in the Torah and Talmud:
For the sin of bloodshed, the Temple is destroyed, and the Divine Presence leaves Israel, as it says: “You shall not pollute the land in
which you live.” (Numbers 35:33)
The Israeli government recognizes that there is a problem, as evidenced by Defense Minister Benny Gantz recently convening an emergency meeting on the issue, and members of the governing coalition, along with Israeli NGOs, hosting a Stop Settler Violence conference in Knesset. What’s needed now is action.
It is the responsibility of those in power to ensure the rule of law in their jurisdictions. In one Midrash, God warns:
- Eliezer said: If there is din (justice/rule of law) below, there is no need for din from above. But if there is no din from below, there will be din from above. . .
Thus, the Holy Blessed One said, “Observe the laws (mishpat) so as not to force me to enforce mishpat from above.”
Midrash Tanchuma 5:7
Taking immediate action to observe the law and address settler violence is urgent and necessary, but it is only a first step in addressing a systemic issue. As long as settlements thrive and grow in violation of international law, and as long as the occupation continues, Palestinians will not achieve the human rights protections that they, like Israelis and all other people, deserve.
We call on the Israeli government to follow its obligations to uphold international human rights law by dismantling illegal outposts and bringing perpetrators to justice.
Sincerely,
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights mobilizes a network of more than 2,300 rabbis and cantors from all streams of Judaism that, together with the Jewish community, act on the Jewish imperative to respect and advance the human rights of all people. Grounded in Torah and our Jewish historical experience and guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we call upon Jews to assert Jewish values by raising our voices and taking concrete steps to protect and expand human rights in North America, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories.